Christmas, Steele Christmas
by SteeleHere44
Summary: Story 12. Mr. and Mrs. Steele and their first Christmas as a married couple.
1. Chapter 1

Christmas, Steele Christmas

Disclaimer:

Remington Steele and its characters are owned by MTM. No copyright infringement intended. For entertainment purposes only.

Set after Season 4. Season 5 doesn't exist in my universe. Mr. and Mrs. Steele are in front of their first Christmas as a married couple.

Chapter 1

Mr. Steele was absolutely immersed in his reading when Laura opened the connecting door and walked into his office, "What are we going to do for Christmas?" She dropped the question in a very nonchalant way, shaking a not existent piece of lint off her blouse.

Mr. Steele put the paper on the desk, and checked on the calendar beside the phone. "We are in October, Laura. Why are you asking a question about where are we going to spend an evening with such anticipation?"

"I like to have everything planned in advance, Mr. Steele. I suppose you're aware of that at this stage of our relationship. Everybody gets crazy at Christmas time, running from shop to shop, fighting like wrestlers for the last treasures still available at the stores. I feel better avoiding the difficult moment by having everything ready before the craziness of the time gets worse. Besides, the shopping result is amazingly better if done a few months earlier. And don't forget the issue about the food. It could be a really difficult fact to find the piece that you want available at the last minute. Every place runs out of food, as if it would be the final day at the end of December."

He looked at her, and after a brief thought he told her, "Perhaps we should separate your concerns following two different aspects. First, you are worried about the presents. I can understand that, it's always easier to find better gifts if you go shopping with some spare time. Everybody knows that for sure. You can take advantage of the Black Friday's offers, indeed. That would suit you for sure, love. And I'd venture to say that if the time you need to wrap gifts is like the time you usually need to do the unwrapping, then you should go on with your plan and start shopping right away to be ready by Christmas Eve."

"Are you implying I'm a sort of an obsessed person who can't relax and have a good time getting everything ready for Christmas?"

"I don't seem to recall saying those excessive words, Laura; but I'm not sure if I want to be beside you while you are immersed in such a delicate and detailed task. It would put me in a certainly bizarre mood after a while."

"Oh, just forget it. I supposed we were going to do the Christmas shopping together. That's what most of married people enjoy to do after all. We'd have plenty of time if we start doing the shopping right away, and I'd like to take advance on that. That was all."

"Listen Laura; what do you think would happen if we go together to do the Christmas shopping? Do you think we will agree about what to choose for everyone like common people do? I don't see us visiting the same kinds of shops; or even trying to agree about what gift would be the perfect one for your sister or the one serious enough for your mother. We usually set our goals in different objectives, love."

"You don't want to do the shopping with me?" she asked trying to hide her disappointment.

"I didn't want it to sound like that. But…"

Laura looked at him with a trace of deception in her eyes, "You have a point, Mr. Steele. The whole thing will be much less stressful without you involved. Was that what you were expecting to hear? Fine, I'm going to do the shopping alone, and you go for your presents by yourself. That's not what I was expecting for our first Christmas as a married couple, but I guess I shouldn't have wished for the unexpected to happen."

"Come on, Laura! Don't make a scandal about a simple stated fact! We can't go shopping together. You know it."

She focused her eyes on the desk, looking again for non-existent lint there, "I guess so…"

"I have an idea that perhaps would work. What do you think if we split the gifts list, and you go for the female part of the family, and I go for the male one? In that way, we will not have any misunderstanding about what should or should not be the perfect gift for anyone. We will trust in each other to get the Christmas shopping solved in the best way."

"You're saying you're buying presents for Donald and Danny, and I'm getting presents for my mother, Frances, Laurie Beth and Mindy? Well, it does sound reasonable. At least I will not have to look for a jeweler's receipt the size of Pasadena hidden inside your suit's pockets."

He focused his mind and maintained his mouth shut, "So, do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal, Mr. Steele. But I'd like to draw some boundaries about the spending, anyway."

"It was too good to be real…"

"If this conversation will be happening between two reasonable people, I…"

"It's fine, Laura. We are aware that one of us can never fit into ordinary behaviors. "

She suddenly got serious, "Are you talking about me? What do you mean with _ordinary behaviors_?"

"One would expect that ordinarily, Christmas time would let people get their minds into family, the great time they will have together sharing a wonderful Christmas Eve, the best way to put a smile on the faces of their loved ones when they open their presents… Ordinarily, people would care less about certain facts about everyday life, putting the focus in making other's wishes come true…"

"I supposed you would arrive to that part eventually. The truth is, Mr. Steele, that you can positively make loved people's wishes come true without the need of spending a fortune in the attempt. Some of the real spirit about Christmas is to give as it is given. We are not a rich family, and I don't want to have my sister and mother thinking about how insignificant their presents looks like because we appear at their house with outsized gifts. Besides, expensive doesn't always mean the best. A smaller but more personal gift would say volumes about how much you know and care about the other one."

"We are in the same tune, Laura. I won't spend any money on jewelry for Danny, or even for Donald, although you know I really appreciate the man and his little one."

Laura finally gave away and laughed, "Mr. Steele, you are incorrigible."

He stood up, and came closer against her, "I figure I am, among other marvels I'd posses…"

"I'm a fan of many of your marvels, you know…"

"Care to elaborate?"

"I'll be delighted to do that later. But first, you don't think I've missed what you said at the beginning of our conversation, don't you?"

"It figures… You don't miss a clue, Laura."

"I'm a detective."

"Of course you are. So, what do you want me to explain, love?"

"You said you should separate your concerns in two different lines. The first one was about the Christmas shopping, in which we've just made a deal. What's the second one about?"

"The second… Just let me put it in this way. You can leave the food out of your worries, love. I'll take care with pleasure of whatever your family would want to delight their palates."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Are you going to call Frances? She just called me asking about the menu, and I couldn't refuse offering my favorite chef's help."

"Just to be clear, love; would the help include agreeing to all your sister's suggestions, or should I have a word about the matter myself?"

"I'm a generous woman, Mr. Steele. You can go with absolute freedom in this one. Just make the call, and enjoy your time." She touched his lips with hers sharing a brief kiss, and turned back to her office. Right before closing the connecting door, she added, "She wants you to do the cooking together at her kitchen. She doesn't want to miss a detail about your chef's skills, beginning right at the shopping. Have a safe journey Mr. Steele. "

She finally closed the door. Once he was sure he was certainly alone, he quickly grabbed the phone and dialed Mildred's intern, "Mildred, please be sure to put in a safe place the jeweler's order when it arrives. Laura is onto it. And about the receipt… make it disappear as fast as you can. We don't need a Christmas tree with some unwrapped presents waiting for a fugitive man under it.

"So, she finally dropped the Christmas issue?"

"What do you mean with _finally_?" asked Mr. Steele lightly surprised.

"She'd been hanging surreptitiously around the subject for weeks."

"Why did you keep her secret instead of telling me, Mildred?"

"For the same reason you wanted my mouth shout about some of your lately not ordinary jewelry expenses. May I remind you what I am speaking about?"

"It's not necessary, Mildred. I can figure it out myself."

"So, are you going to do the cooking with Frances, chief?"

"I'm supposed to behave, Mildred. Besides, it's not like we are talking about a hard sacrifice like doing paperwork… I love to cook."

"Well, in that case you can add your secretary's kitchen to your visiting list. I'd love to have you for a cooking day in my kitchen, Mr. Steele. I'll do the dishes. I promise."

"Are you asking for that as a Christmas present, or should I take it as an extortion Mildred?"

Extortion? Don't you dare to suggest something like that about me, chief. Let's leave it as a special Christmas present. I'll be able to show it off in front of my sister's family, after all. You'll make our Christmas Eve a delicious one."

"I'll do my best, Mildred."

"Then, I guess we have a deal," said Mildred.

"It depends."

"It depends on what?"

"Are you still sure you'll be able to keep the secret about our agreement in front of Laura?"

"What agreement?"

"Spare me with the shopping part if you can, Mildred. My schedule at that time will be as tight as Laura's."

"It was too good to be true…" answered the Secretary.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I've never been inside this store, Mr. Steele. It's fantastic! Those shelves are full of delicatessen! Oh, Look! See that woman? She's Lynn Albertson; one of my Bridge club members. She always brings something delicious to our Bridge parties. I guess we discovered her secret. She buys her ingredients here! "Let me introduce you… Lynn, Lynn."

He intended to stop her, but he woman turned her head from the article she was inspecting and met Frances' eyes. Instantly, a smile was drawn on her face, and it grew wider when she spotted Frances' handsome escort. "Hello Frances, nice to meet you," she said looking at Mr. Steele with a devious interest. "I see you're not alone…"

"Let me introduce you to my brother in law, Laura's husband; Remington Steele," she announced proudly.

"Remington Steele? The famous one?" asked the woman.

"Of course he is the famous one. And he is married to my little sister…" added Frances beaming.

"A pleasure," said Mr. Steele, feeling a bit uncomfortable under the woman's exhaustive visual inspection.

"Oh, he is married…" she said not concealing her disappointing.

As the conversation followed, Mr. Steele found an interesting spot a few steps to his left and put his eyes on it, playing a polite exit, "Excuse me, I need to look for something."

Once Frances' conversation with her friend was over, she returned towards Mr. Steele and they followed with their errands.

"Oh Remington, I'm so grateful you agreed to do this with me…" Frances was out of herself with excitement.

"You are welcomed, Frances. But it's not a big deal. We are family after all," he answered her in a polite but monotonous tone, not noticeable by his sister in law

Since his agreement to help Frances with Christmas Eve's menu; Mr. Steele had been politely but systematically eluding his sister in law and her eagerness to have all the needed shopping done on an exaggerated advance. He successfully managed to delay the task through the whole December month to have the chance to have the whole activity solved in only one day, getting the things ready for his visit to Frances kitchen on Christmas Eve. Of course Laura had enjoyed each and every one of her sister's calls, witnessing the carefully elaborated excuses her husband put on to get rid of Frances' excitation for the entire month of November. She had made a deal with Mildred announcing her sister's calls; just to be sure to catch every single phone conversation to keep the situation under her radar. It wasn't that she was not comfortable about her sister and Mr. Steele doing the cooking together. She was satisfied with that part of the situation. But there was another part that was keeping her on alert. The extravagance her husband could get carried away with, and transform a familiar Christmas Eve dinner menu into a Michelin three star one. She was usually delighted by his creations, but it was not the point this time to let him go too far with his inspiration because the kids will be involved, and it was known they were partial to pineapple pizza instead of Lobster Thermidor. Traditional with a sophisticated touch was more on the line of Laura's thoughts; and she had made sure that her husband agreed to maintain himself between those lines, threatening him with a starving Christmas celebration, with not precisely food involved as her punishment objective.

"I think we have everything we'll need, Frances. Let's go to the check out."

They waited for some time at the cashier line. It was too close to Christmas and the store was packed. Once their turn arrived, he began to put the items from the basket onto the conveyer belt. The cashier noticed him in a blink, and gave him an interested look, not showing a hint of doubt about her intentions. Frances, who was standing behind Mr. Steele, noticed the woman's intentions, and jumped ahead of Mr. Steele, making herself noticeable in front of the woman.

_I don't know how Laura manages to keep calmed if this situation presents itself every time he is in front of a woman_, Frances thought.

Noticing the woman wasn't taking her hungry eyes from Mr. Steele, she told her, "Excuse me, I hope you don't mind but we could use some bags… We can't go out with this stuff sprawled in our hands, you know?" She added her special threatening mother's tone to her words to increase the meaning a bit.

The woman rolled her eyes and, making an effort, handled her some bags.

They continued putting the items inside the bags, and once the process was ready, Frances and Mr. Steele both reached for their wallets.

"Let me do this, Frances. This time it's on me."

Frances beamed. Not only she was carrying her handsome brother in law through the whole extravagant store, but he was taking care of the expenses… He was a jewel to be with.

The next step would be tomorrow in Frances' kitchen, and with luck, the whole experiment would run smoothly and be successfully finished in time for dinner. At least those were Mr. Steele's thoughts.

He arrived at the office to find Mildred waiting for him. His second cooking task for the day was waiting. Although it was an exchange for Mildred's secret, Laura didn't suspect anything when he announced he was going to help Mildred to do the cooking. He charmed the explanation by saying that Mildred had overheard the whole phone exchange with Frances and she wanted her own Kitchen experience with him, as well. He departed towards Miss Krebs' home to start with the activity, who differently from Frances, had all the shopping done in advance, waiting for his expert hands to start the magic.

Later in the afternoon, noticing the lack of activity because of the day, Laura closed the office for the holidays, not forgetting the sad Christmas experience they shared last year. This time it was going to be totally different. The celebration would be with her new husband and her whole family and far from the office; and surprisingly for her, she was glad the way it was going to be.

When they met at Rossmore, Laura was sitting on the sofa with her shoes off and her foot tucked under her, sipping some wine and staring at the Christmas tree lights like a child.

"Hi there," he told her from behind, kissing her cheek.

"Everything okay with your cooking ladies?"

"Everything okay. Frances is waiting for us tomorrow afternoon, and Mildred has ready in her fridge a pretty delicious surprise to delight her family. How was your day?"

"I closed the office early and came home. There was no point in staying there." She stood up and offered a hand to him, "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" he showed her his crooked smile, "Lead the way."

They walked to the kitchen where there was a succulent diner carefully arranged.

"You did that?" asked Mr. Steele totally surprised.

"Actually I did. But not in the way you're wondering. I made a detour by the Deli on my way home. Don't get scared, everything is perfectly edible, Mr. Steele."

"I wasn't wondering anything, Laura. I was just surprised. That was all. I don't know why you're always trying to sell yourself short. You are a good cook; your spectrum might not be huge, but you have a few specialties worthy to taste. You know; sometimes few are really better, love."

"Don't try to charm me, Mr. Steele. We are way past than that. Let's eat. I'm starving."

Once diner was over, they remained staring at the lighted tree from their favorite spot in the living room, enjoying the view.

"I'd have never guessed this Christmas would find us this way after last year's disaster," said Laura.

"Better than expected?"

"Absolutely better! But not only speaking about us, about our relationship. I wasn't sure about how our relationship in front of my family was going to work for me."

"I think you did it great."

"I think _we _are doing it great. It's not one sided, you know?"

"We are all doing it right. Tomorrow will be our first Christmas together, and I couldn't have expected a better way to spend it; you beside me; your family getting closer… Daniel is the only one I will miss. But he made it clear that Christmas in LA wasn't possible this year. He had a prior commitment overseas."

"I'm sure he'll spend a happy Christmas at the Riviera. He didn't sound too disappointed to be there last time we talked."

"I guess the female company had something to do with that."

"I guess. We'll have to get a compromise from him earlier next year. You might put it in my hands."

"Capable hands?"

"You can bet."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The morning found them arranging a huge portion of Mr. Steele's kitchen things inside a duffel bag. This, among the gifts both of them had bought; some clothes to change into, and other toiletteries. Santa should feel relieved knowing those weren't the heavy bags he was supposed to carry through the fireplaces. They arranged everything in the Auburn and headed to Frances'.

Once they arrived there, Frances opened the door and came outside in a hurry to help with all the bags. Laurie Beth came running outside right after her mother, jumping onto Mr. Steele who luckily wasn't holding anything breakable in his hands. The girl climbed him like a tree, and put her arms on his neck with an emphasis that startled Laura.

"Hello Uncle Mr. Steele! Merry Christmas!" said the girl in ecstasy.

"Hello Laurie Beth, Merry Christmas to you too!"

He met his eyes with Laura's, who mouthed to him, "She's like a boa constrictor."

He winked at her, mouthing an okay, "I'm familiar with the situation."

"Let's go inside Uncle Mr. Steele. You have to see our tree! I helped to decorate it," said the little girl.

"Sure sweetie, but we have to get all this stuff inside first. Will you help us?" asked Laura, trying to be noticed by the girl.

"Sure! I'll show you the way." She ran away inside the house developing the same speed she had when she arrived moments earlier.

"It will be a long day," commented Laura raising her eyebrows.

"It will be a great day," he added, kissing her cheek on his way inside.

Mr. Steele entertained himself in the kitchen, tailed by an amazed Frances. She helped, took notes, made the dishes, and before she knew it, the work in the kitchen was done. Laura was the one assigned to set and decorate the table. She displayed everything with an accurate neatness, and made a lovely arrangement to put in the middle of it. Abigail was kidnapped in the family room by Laurie Beth, after her mother told her Mr. Steele was busy and she wasn't going to have his attention until later. The little girl grabbed her grandmother's hand and dragged her there with a full Christmas Library to work on.

Laura was staring at the table making sure everything was perfect, when she felt an arm come around her waist. "It smells wonderful," she told him.

"You too."

"I meant the food. I'm starving."

"Me too." He started to put tiny kisses all around her neck.

"I see. Weren't you supposed to behave in front of my family?"

"It's Christmas…"

"And? There are still some hours for you to behave if you want to unwrap your presents."

"I'm enjoying a preview. I'm not going to unwrap you yet, I promise I'll behave."

She made an effort, disentangled themselves and grabbed his hand, "Come with me."

"Am I having a preview, really?" he asked totally excited.

"We are going to change, Mr. Steele. You will take off your cooking attire and get yourself dressed in the proper way."

"I could use some help…"

"Forget it. I'll be busy getting ready myself."

"You could use some help…"

"Mr. Steele. Remember."

"I remember, Laura, I remember. I've been remembering since our chat took place two months ago…"

Dinner was a success, just as it was expected. The food was delicious, and the conversation ran smoothly with the kids making their own particular additions. The most amusing one was when Laurie Beth told them that Harvey, the rabbit she added to her school classroom after her birthday's magic number, had forgotten how to do his tricks, and wasn't able to disappear and appear anymore after he grew up. He was only entertained eating carrots lately.

When the gifts part of the holiday finally arrived, everybody walked to the living room and they arranged themselves around the coffee table in front of the Christmas tree. The little Pipers were the ones in charge of delivering the gifts to each member of the family. Once the kids were near the tree, Laurie Beth began to jump.

"Look, look, the tree is full of golden reindeers!"

"What?" asked Frances, making a few steps towards the Christmas tree. There were plenty of the golden ornaments hanging from it.

"I didn't know those were there. Never saw them before," she said turning her face to Donald.

"I told you, mummy. I asked Santa for some snow like we had in our old house and some reindeers. He brought me golden reindeers!"

"Maybe if you try to unwrap them there will be a sweet surprise inside," added Mr. Steele, revealing himself as the guilty one.

The girl took one of the brilliant ornaments and started the fast unwrapping.

_Not like in her aunt Laura's style, thank God_; thought Mr. Steele appreciating the high speed of the girl's fingers.

"They are chocolate ones!" she excitedly started to eat in the middle of a jumping routine.

_Just like her aunt Laura_ _after all_, finally thought Mr. Steele…

He looked at his wife at that moment, and their eyes met. There were no words needed. He took her hand in his and squeezed it.

"Maybe sometime?" he whispered in her ear smiling softly.

"Absolutely," she answered returning the smile.

Laurie Beth gave Laura her presents, "I can read your name because it's almost the same as mine," she told her, "But I'm luckier than you. My presents are bigger than yours Aunty Laura."

Laura grabbed the packages and noticed there was a small one on the top. "I guess I can imagine who this one is coming from…"

"Open it," said her Mr. Steele.

She did as she was told, and opened the blue velvet box, finding a beautiful golden bracelet with a heart shape pendant inside, matching the pendant he'd given her some years ago. But this special item had an inscription, _Sàr gràdh is qu bràth_.

"It means _True Love is Forever_."

"It's beautiful, but we'd made it clear that…"

He interrupted her, "Some of the real spirit about Christmas is to give as it is given. I remember you've told me that, love. That's why when I saw it, I knew it was perfect. Heart for heart."

She put her complaints aside for once, and kissed him squarely on his lips, "Thank you."

Once everybody received their respective gifts, the older children disappeared from view, with the only purpose of playing with their new presents. Danny and Donald were entangled in the family room, putting together a racing track, while Mindy was playing with her Barbie's new wardrobe at the kitchen's table. Abigail and Frances were finishing the order in the kitchen, sharing an interesting chat about their respective Bridge activities; while Laurie Beth was comfortably seated on Laura's lap, with Mr. Steele helping her with her new Magic Tricks Set. The girl was lost in excitement until she started to rub her eyes.

Frances took pity on the tired girl and lifted her from Laura's lap, carrying her upstairs. They were finally alone in front of the Christmas tree. It was then that Mr. Steele found the chance to put an arm on her shoulder and pulled her to him.

"It's my best Christmas ever," he told her, "I'm on the other side of the window this time."

"_We_ are on the other side of the window, Mr. Steele. No more Christmas alone for us."

Their first Christmas together as a married couple was almost over. There were a few gifts waiting to be unwrapped at home. But this time, they would do it privately.


End file.
